Electric motors include stator assemblies which have conductors for the motor. In a bar wound stator assembly the conductors are solid copper bars individually inserted into a stator stack. Following assembly of the conductors in the stator stack, the individual conductors are twisted into the required positions to form a winding.
The lead conductors, i.e. those which form the connection points for the motor, are given extra length. As each electric motor is assembled the lead conductors are hand tooled into phase lead connections by bending and forming a portion of the extra length of the lead conductors. The lead conductors are bent such that the phase lead connections are located in the required angular position about the circumference of the stator assembly for the motor connections. Phase lead connections for a common phase must all align with one another. Maintaining the alignment between the conductors that form common phase lead connections is difficult. Another method to create this type of lead is to form the shaped lead conductors prior to insertion into the stator. However, this method makes insertion of the conductors into the stator difficult.
Individually tooling each of the lead conductors into the phase lead connections is a complicated and expensive process. Furthermore, between the phase lead connections and the stator stack, the lead conductors have long cantilevered or unsupported lengths of exposed copper wire which can vibrate and fatigue.